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lluiiMui. Eiiiimviiiii * IVmlinU.i 



LIFE AND UESOURGES 



AMEBIC A. 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION 



<1'^ 



ARINOra MORI. 



For circulation in Japan. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. ''^'^WAbH^ 

1871. 






8- 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. 

OlHcial and Political Life. 

Life among the Farmers and Planters. 

Commercial Life and Developments. 

Life among the Mechanics. 

Religious Life and Institutions. 

Life in the Factories. 

Educational Life and Institutions. 

Literary, Artistic, and Scientific Life. 

Life among the Miners. 

Life in the Army and Navy. 

Life in the Leading Cities. 

Frontier Life and Developments. 



PART FIRST, 



A PRELIMINARY NOTE. 



The knowledge furnished by all the bet- 
ter qualified minds of the world, is a pow- 
erful element, rendering great service in 
the cause of humanity. It is often the 
case that enmity and bloodshed, are the 
consequence of storing up prejudices, re- 
sulting from the want of mutual knowledge 
of the parties engaged. The object of this 
publicavtion, is not only to aid in removing 
those prejudices, but also to invite all the 
lovers of their race, in Japan, to join in 
the noble march of progress and human 
happiness. 

In view of the fact that many dates are 

mentioned in this volume, it has been found 

necessary, for the sake of convenience, to 

adopt the Western Calendar altogether, and 

it is hoped that this course will not lead to 

any embarrassment in the mind of the 

reader. 

Arinori Mori. 

Wasldngton City, U. S., September, 1871. 

Ur, according- to the Ja[)rtnese Calendar, the 

Seveiil/i inotilh of ihc Fourth year of Meiili. 



INTRODUCTION 



By the term America which appears on 
the title page of this book, we mean the 
United States of America. As we are 
writing for the information of a class of 
readers wdio haye never visited this coun- 
try, we propose to speak in as simple 
and concise a manner as possible. What- 
ever statements of fact, we may make, 
shall be founded upon the public and other 
authentic records ; and in submitting any 
general observations, we shall endeavor to 
steer a middle course, and give only such 
opinions as are held in common by the 
people of the country. Before proceeding 
to the main object of this volume, however, 
we think it necessary to take a brief survey 
of the area and population of the United 



1 INTRODUCTION. 

States, as follows. The total area of the 
Hepublic, which extends from the Atlantic 
Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and excepting 
Alaska, lies wholly in the temperate zone, is 
about three million, eight hundred and thir- 
ty thousand square miles, an extent of sur- 
face larger than the whole of Europe; it has 
a coast line, including shores of bays, sounds 
and lakes, of 30,000 miles, of which 2,800 
are on the Atlantic, 1,800 on the Pacific, 
and 2,000 on the gulf of Mexico; it is 
traversed from North to South by two great 
ranges of mountains called the Alleghany 
and Rocky mountains; its rivers are numer- 
ous, and among the largest in the world ; 
its lakes contain more than one half of the 
fresh water on the globe; and its population, 
according to the census of 1870, is not 
far from thirty-nine millions, which is a 
considerable advance upon the population 
hitherto claimed for the empire of Japan. 
In the last 70 years, the increase has been 
about 33,000,000. Of these inhabitants it 
has been estimated that more than two- 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

fifths of them are immigrants, or the 
descendants of iinuiigraiits from foreign 
countries. Great Britain and Irehind have 
contributed most largely to this immigra- 
tion, and the other countries which have 
helped to swell the population, are as follows, 
and we mention them in the order of their 
contribution, viz : Germany, France, Prussia, 
China, West Indies, Switzerland, Norway 
and Sweden, Holland, Mexico, Spain, Italy, 
Belgium, South-America, Denmark, Azores, 
Portugal, Sardinia, Poland and Russia, 
whose contribution was less than two thou- 
sand. Of this great mass of immigrants 
it has been ascertained that a very large 
proportion, have changed their circumstan- 
ces for the better. With reL>;ard to the 
Black race, who, prior to the year I8G(), 
were in a state of bondage, but are now 
free, they number nearly four millions and 
nine hundred thousand ; the half civilized 
Indian tribes, about twenty-six thousand, 
and the wild Indians have been estimated 
at three hundred thousand. In 1870 there 



1 2 INTUODUCTIOX. 

were of Chinese 03,254, with whom were 
inchuled 53, Japjinese, but since tlien the 
latter hiivc reached about 250 in number/== 
Tlie ])ublic lands of the United States are 
so abundant, that every man who settles 
in the country, can aiFord, with careful 
man;i!i;ement, to have a small farm for 
his exclusive benefit, as the price of land 
is generally so reasonable that it scarce- 
ly exceeds, and seldom equals, the rent 
payable in England. There is no descrip- 
tion of produce, European or Tropical, 
which may not be raised in the United 
States, and aside from its inany other 
advantages, there is no other country 
which offers so many inducements to peo- 
ple in search of permanent and comfortable 
homes; and it is the present condition, 
of the people who enjoy this inheritance, 
with their manners and customs, that w6 
propose to describe, in the following pages 
of this volume. 



* It must not be understood that all these foreigners 
have bi'cu nnluvalized. 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

But, before coiicludiiig this iatroduction, 
it is important that two subjects should be 
mentioned for the special consideration of 
the Japanese people. While we entertain 
an exalted opinion of what is called a Re- 
publican form of Government, we confess 
that it is not without its disadvantages and 
dangers. For an}^ foreign nation^^fuliy to 
understand them, must require time, and 
much careful study. The Japanese people 
have been somewhat fascinated by what 
they have seen of the American government 
and institutions, and it is of the utmost im- 
portance, that they should well consider 
the subject in all its bearings, before ndopt- 
ing any of its features into their own form 
of government. The evils resulting from 
the misuse of freedom in America, are 
among the most difiicult to correct or re- 
form, and ought to be carefully avoided. 
Another fact that should not be forgotten 
has reference to the educational qualifica- 
tions necessary to secure success in a Re- 
publican form of Go^cl•l^ncnt. It is un- 



] 4 INTRODUCTION. 

doiibtedly true tliat the best thinkers in 
America (le|ih)re the (act that tlie niacliina- 
tions of the politicians, have resulted in 
placing the United States in an unfortunate 
condition in this respect. It has been so 
profitable with designing and selfish men, 
to increase the number of voters, that they 
have secured the passage of laws which 
allow all men to vote in view of the single 
idea of personal freedom. This is undoubt- 
edly all wrong, and the evil effects of this 
state of things are being manifested every 
day. A prosperous, happy, and permanent 
HepLiblican government can only be secured, 
when the people who live under it are vir- 
tuous and well educated. 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 



As preliminary to this chapter, it would 
seem to be necessary that we should give 
an outline of the machinery of the Ameri- 
can Government. It is two-fold in its char- 
acter; first Federal, because it is made up 
of States, and second National, because it 
acts directly from the people. According 
to the Constitution, it is divided into three 
branches, viz : Executive, Legislative, and 
Judicial. The head of the Executive 
branch, or ruler of the Nation, is called 
the President, who is elected by the votes 
of the people for the term of four years, 
and is sometimes re-elected for an additional 
term of four years. He is also the Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the United States Navy 
and Army. The average cost of each elec- 



16 OFFICIAL AND POMTICAL LIFE. 

tion in inoiioy, has been cstiniated at two 
millions of dollars. His office is styled the 
Executive Mansion, and is identical with his 
official residence, the White-House. He is 
obliged to be a native and citizen of the 
country, and thirty-five years of age, and 
his annual compensation is twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars. The second officer of the 
Government is called the Vice President, 
whose business is to preside over the Sen- 
ate. He is elected in the same manner as 
the President, and his salary is eight thou- 
sand dollars per annum. The Executive 
Departments of the Government are seven 
in number, viz: the Departments of State 
or Foreign Affairs, Treasury, Interior, Post 
Office, War, Navy, and of Justice. The 
heads of them are called Secretaries, and 
they form the Cabinet of the President. 
They each receive a salary of eight thou- 
sand dollars, and their jurisdiction, under 
the President, extends to all the subordinate 
oflicers of the Government, whether located 
in Washington or in the several States of 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 17 

the Union, The Judiciary of the counby 
is vested in a Supreme Court, District 
Courts, and the Court of Ckims ; the sahi- 
ries of the Judges ranging from sixty-five 
hundr-ed down to thirty-five hundred dol- 
lars per annum. The Legislative branch 
of the Government, consists of a Senate 
and House of Representatives, — the Sena- 
tors, numbering seventy-four, elected for 
six years, — and the Representatives, two 
hundred and forty-three, — elected for tw^o 
years, and their, compensation is five thou- 
sand dollars per annum. The number of 
States which form the Union is thirty-seven, 
with ten Territories or incipient States, and 
their form of government is precisely simi- 
lar to that of the nation at large ; the lead- 
ing olHcers of each State or Territory bear- 
ing the titles of Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor. To the above may be added the 
municipal form of government for cities and 
towns, where the local authority is allied to 
that generally recognized in Europe, where 
the chief ofiicers consist of Mayors and Al- 



18 OFFICIAL- AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

dermen and their subordinates, although 
bearing different names, in different coun- 
tries. With these particuhirs before him, 
the reader will be able to comprehend the 
following observations. Although the real 
and official residence of the President is 
in Washington, the fashionable season, so- 
called, begins and ends with the sittings of 
Congress, beginning in December and last- 
ing from three to six months. The position 
occupied by officials under the Constitution, 
gives them necessarily a certain rank, ac- 
cording to the importance and nature of the 
office, the length of time, and the age, re- 
quired by law, of the incumbent. The 
house in which the President resides is the 
property of the Government; and to a great 
extent, his household expenses are paid by 
public appropriations. The title by which 
he is addressed in conversation is that of 
3£r. President, and every citizen of the Re- 
public, no matter how humble his position, 
has a right to visit the Executive in per- 
son. During the winter he holds public 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 19 

receptions as often as once a week, and on 
the Fourth of July, which is a National 
Holiday, and the First of January, he re- 
ceives, as a special mark of respect, the Di- 
plomavtic Corps and the officers of the Army 
and Navy in full uniform, himself always 
appearing without any uniform. He ac- 
cepts no invitations to dinners, and makes 
no calls or visits of ceremony ; but is at 
liberty to visit without ceremony at his 
pleasure. State dinners are given by him 
quite^frequently, and persons invited com- 
mit a breach of etiquette when they decline 
invitations. The rules of social intercourse 
which govern the Cabinet Ministers, are 
similar to those recognized by the President. 
As their tenure of office is limited, they 
have, in spite of themselves, a very busy 
time during their whole term of service : 
spending their days in dealing out patron- 
age, and their nights in giving or attending 
parties. Their families take the lead in 
fashion, and all American citizens have an 
undisputed right to attend their receptions, 



20 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

and after that public manner, to be Hislnon- 
able ; and as exclusiveness in the President 
or his ministers would be considered un- 
democratic, and therefore would not be tol- 
erated, tliere is no end to the so-called en- 
joyments of life. If a minister is rich and 
liberal, he becomes, for the time being, the 
biggest man of the hour, in spite of his 
politics ; if poor, and dependent only upon 
his salary, the fact of his ha^ang to occupy 
a large house, and to entertain the people, 
invariably sends him into retirement a poor- 
er man than he was before. With the 
Judges of the Supreme Court, these matters 
are somewhat different. They are the only 
dignitaries who hold office for life, and they 
can afford to do as they please, and gener- 
ally please to lead the quiet lives of culti- 
vated gentlemen. They go into society 
when the spirit moves them, are not disin- 
clined to partake of good dinners with their 
friends, a Foreign Envoy, or a Cabinet Min- 
ister, and perhaps the greatest of their 
blessings is, that they are not compelled to 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 21 

curry favor with the multitude. The next 
layer of Washington society, to which we 
would allude, is made up of the Heads of 
Bureaus and the Officers of the Army and 
Navy,' their pay ranging from ten to two 
thousand dollars per annum. They are the 
men who more immediately manage the 
machinery of the Government, and upon 
whom to a great extent depends the success 
of all the public measures enacted by Con- 
gress. Though commonly well paid, many 
of them cannot afford to display much style 
although they live comfortably, and gener- 
ally, in their own houses, although many 
officials reside in boarding houses or hotels. 
The civil officers are but seldom appointed 
on their merits, but usually through politi- 
cal influence, and the party which happens 
to be in power, commonly claims all the 
patronage, and the most worthy and com- 
petent men, are often dismissed from office 
without a moment's w^arning. With the 
Military and Naval officers the case is some- 
what different, for though they may get 



22 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE, 

into ofHce through pohtical influence, they 
are usually appointed for life, and are not 
removed without cause. After the above 
come the Clerks or employees of the Gov- 
ernment, which number several thousand in 
Washington alone. They are in reality the 
hardest working population of the Metrop- 
olis. Among them may be found men from 
every State in the Union, and from many 
foreign countries ; men of no particular, 
mark, who have lost fortunes ; ripe scholars, 
Avho have been rudely buffetted by the 
Avorld ; men of capacity, who can teach 
their superiors in office ; rare penmen and 
common-place accountants ; and a sister- 
hood, composed chiefly of respectable wid- 
ows and orphans who have fled to the Gov- 
ernment for support. The custom of em- 
ploying women as clerks originated out of 
the disasters which followed the late war, 
and the number now employed by the Gov- 
ernment has already reached several thou- 
sand, and they have been found to be quite 
as useful as men clerks. Their compensa- 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 23 

tion ranges from nine hundred to twenty- 
five hundred dollars per annum, and while 
it is true that many receive more than they 
earn, because of their idle or inattentive 
habits, others find it difficult to secure a 
comfortable support. Occasionally, a man 
may be found who has grown gray in the 
public service and is an oracle, but the great 
majority are, in reality, a floating popula- 
tion. The comparative ease with which 
these Clerks earn their money, tends to 
make them improvident; many instances 
might be mentioned, however, where Clerks 
have left the Government service, and be- 
come distinguished as merchants or in some 
of the professions. For a totally different 
phase of Washington life, and the most in- 
fluential for evil or for good, we must turn 
to the brotherhood of Congressmen. Com- 
ing as they do from all parts of the country, 
and representing every variety of popuhi- 
tion, it is quite as impossible to speak of 
them collectively, as of their individual 
characteristics. Among them are to be 



24 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

found honest and able statesmen, but that 
a large proportion of them are mere time- 
serving politicians, is a fact that cannot be 
questioned. It is frequently the case that 
after a Congressman has ended his career 
as a legislator, he turns office-seeker, and 
many of them, without a knowledge of any 
lan^uaore but their own are sent abroad as 
Diplomatic Ministers. Of these Congress- 
men, there have been not less than five 
thousand of them elected since the founda- 
tion of the Government; and the several 
political parties to which they have be- 
longed may be summed up as Federalists, 
Democrats, Whigs, Locofocos, Freesoilers, 
Abolitionists, Fire-eaters, Republicans, Cop- 
perheads, Native Americans, Secessionists 
and Radicals, forming in the aggregate a 
conglomeration of political ideas quite in 
keeping with the energetic and free spirit 
of the American people. Prior to the late 
civil war, colored men were not admitted 
to seats in Congress, but at the present 
time a few of them hold positions in both 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 25 

Houses of Congress, — there being now no 
distinction recognized on account of color, 
so far as political rights nre concerned. 
With regard to the permanent population 
of Washington little can be said of special 
interest. Occupying, as this city does, a 
position on the River Potomac, at the head 
of navigation, about midway between the 
Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, it was calculated to become a place 
of commercial importance. But this idea 
was not realized,- and it became a metropol- 
itan city, chiefly dependent for its support 
upon the General Government. The local 
trade is measured by the wants of the pop- 
ulation, and there is nothing exported ex- 
cepting a limited amount of flour, and a 
considerable quantity of bituminous coal. 
The only particular, perhaps, in which the 
inhabitants differ from those of other Amer- 
ican cities, is in their free and easy manners, 
growing out of their intercourse and famil- 
iarity with people from all quarters of the 
globe, drawn hither by business or pleasure. 



26 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

With them, the dignitaries of the land, as 
well as ambassadors from abroad, are ap- 
preciated at their real value ; and a man, 
who towers as a giant in the rural districts, 
is very sure to be measured accuratelj^ in 
the Metropolis. But the most peculiar fea- 
ture of Washington society at the present 
time (1871) is, the position to which the 
colored or Negro population has attained. 
Before the late civil war, these unhappy 
people were in a state of bondage, and only 
enough of them were congregated in the 
Metropolis to supply the demand for house- 
hold servants. While the war wms pro- 
gressing, wdiich resulted in their emancipa- 
tion, large numbers fled to this city, as to 
a place of refuge, and here, a Inrge propor- 
tion of them have continued to remain to 
the present time. They have been admit- 
ted to all the rights and privileges of citi- 
zenship ; but, while the more intelligent 
have profited by their advantages, large 
numbers of them are content to idle away 
their time, or depend upon the autliorities 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 27 

for sniDport, and they constitute about one- 
third of the present popuhition. They have 
not as yet been sufficiently educated to be 
received in society on the same footing with 
the white race, and the repugnance to re- 
ceiving them at the same table, or to inter- 
marrying with them, is as strong as in other 
times, quite universal, and will probably so 
• continue. 

In the further prosecution of our plan, 
we must direct attention to that large mass 
of the community engaged in carrying on 
the business of the nation in the diverse 
regions of the United States. We begin 
with the Postmasters, one of whom is loca- 
ted in every city, town and village through- 
out the land, and the aggregate number of 
whom is about twenty-six thousand, exclu- 
sive of their numerous assistants. Their 
duties are, to receive and deliver all letters 
sent to their several Offices, and to look af- 
ter the prompt dispatch of the mails, by 
ships and railroads, by coaches and Avagons, 
and on horseback, and their compensation 



28 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

ranges from six thousand dollars to a few 
dollars per annum. They arc all ait})ointed 
directly by the President, and hold office 
during his pleasure. Next to these come 
the custom-house officers, who, including 
all grades, number not less than five thou- 
sand employees ; after these, comes another 
Lirge body whose business is to collect the 
Internal Revenue of the country ; and also 
a very extensive force engaged in carrying 
on the interests connected with the Public 
Lands, the Indian Tribes, and the Judicial 
business in the various States and Territo- 
ries, as well as those interests prosecuted 
under the authority of the Patent Office, 
the Pension Office and the Agricultur.-il 
Department. Now, as the people here men- 
tioned, numbering in the gross not far from 
sixty thousand persons, obtain their posi- 
tions through political influence, it is natural 
that they should take a special interest in 
politics, and do their utmost for the success 
of the particular party to which they belong. 
Hence the great excitement which invaria- 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 29 

bly prevails at all the elections. As before 
intimated the President and Vice President 
are voted for once in every four 3^ears ; and 
the Representatives in Congress once in 
two years ; — the Senators being chosen by 
the State Legislatures. It would appear 
therefore that as the people are intelligent 
and honest, so must be the office-holders ; 
but this is not always the case, because of 
the existence of what are called mere poli- 
ticians or demaiiogues. This class of citi- 
zens has greatly multiplied of late years, 
and it is safe to say that nearly all the 
troubles which befall the country are the 
res^ilt of their petty schemes and selfish 
intrigues. There is not a village in the 
land where they do not congregate or pur- 
sue in secret their unpatriotic designs. Of 
course there are many exceptions to this 
state of things, but the rule is as we have 
stated it : and the evils resulting from the 
power thus obtained and prostituted, have 
come to be universally recognized and de- 
plored by the honest people of the land. 



;>0 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

The loss of dignity, and the decline in pub- 
lic morals on account of politics is, to-day, 
a source of mortification and alarm among 
tlie A'irtuous and patriotic citizens of the 
country. The philosophy of Government, 
is a subject to which the people of America 
have devoted but little attention, and very 
few books have been published on the sub- 
ject, and yet it is claimed that they are in 
advance of all other nations, in the practice 
of self-government. To what extent this is 
true, the present writer is not called upon 
to decide. It is too true, however, that 
the opinion is frequently expressed by for- 
eigners that the unbridled system of a Re- 
publican government leads to many political 
troubles. The two or three crowning fea- 
tures of the American Government would 
seem to be as follows : That the nation is a 
peculiar organism, having a life and destiny 
of its own, founded on the idea of humanity, 
and like the individual person, but in a 
more continuous degree ; that its authority 
to govern the people, is derived from their 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 31 

actual or implied assent; and that in assert- 
ing its prerogatives, it looks to the least 
possible interference with the free action 
of the individuals composing the community. 
This form of government involves the idea 
of contract, tacit or expressed, and no mat- 
ter how it may be carried out, must rest 
upon the understanding of the people, not 
only as to the end to be pursued, but also 
as to the methods. As one circle within 
another, so does the government of each 
State and Territory revolve within the cir- 
cle of the Union, and the State, county and 
town elections, for offices which are subject 
to State patronnge, are precisel}^ similar in 
character and results to the National elec- 
tions. While deprecating the abuses to 
which the American people are subject, on 
account of what is called universal suffrage, 
there are many social features which are to 
be highly commended, and are peculiar to 
the country ; among these is the absence of 
pauperism, and the universal respectability 
iiii personal appearance among all classes. 



32 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

This fact is apparent to all observers, and 
has been fnlly conceded by the best Eng- 
lish writers on this country. There is no 
beggary here except such as arises from 
profligacy or causes beyond the control of 
human nature. Another peculiar feature 
of American life is, the equal distribution 
of wealth, acknowledged as remarkably 
characteristic of the nation. In all the 
large cities and occasionally in the countr}^ 
may be found a man possessing enormous 
wealth, but among the millions of our pop- 
ulation wealth is diffused, and there is a 
wonderful equality in the material condition 
of the population. Another phase of Amer- 
ican life, to which we have already alluded, 
and which has astonished the Governments 
of the Old World, is, the doctrine of Univer- 
sal Sulfrage. It is this which lies at the 
basis of all her institutions, and it is this, 
more than anything else, taken in connec- 
tion with the super-abundant resources of 
the country, that tends to an equal distri- 
bution of wealth. It is not, as a noted 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 33 

English Statesman has said, so much a 
man's wealth, which the American people 
recognize, and to which they pay homage, 
as the energy and ability which may turn 
wealth to account. In theory, as well as 
in reality, they regard equality and broth- 
erhood as of the Essence of the Constitution 
under which they live, and of their social 
well-being and existence. As the official 
and political classes heretofore touched 
upon are either the law-makers of the land, 
or engaged in carrying out the laws, it may 
be well enough to notice their rights and 
privileges under those laws. While it is 
true that members of Congress, and some 
few dignitaries besides, are exempt from 
arrest for civil misdemeanors, when engaged 
in their public duties, all persons of every 
position are amenable to the criminal laws. 
A leading dignitary, when he violates the 
law, is as promptly brought to trial, as the 
humblest man in the community, but the 
misfortune is, that the influence possessed 
by the former is too apt to keep him from 



34 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

deserved pnnisbment, while the latter is 
compelled to meet a less happy fate. The 
titles which accompany the possession of 
office, are of no special value, and, except 
in the Army and Navy, terminate w'ith the 
office. At the same time it must not be 
supposed that the Americans are without 
the sentiments which grow out of associa- 
tion with old and honored f^imilies. In 
some parts of the country there is a very 
decided feeling of aristocracy, but it is pecu- 
liar to the regions which have been the 
longest settled. The privilege of receiving 
and sending letters free of postage, and 
without limit, is enjoyed only by the Pres- 
ident, his Cabinet, the heads of Bureaus 
and Congressmen ; under certain official re- 
strictions, the postmasters may frank their 
letters, but beyond that, all men in office 
have to pay postage like ordinary people. 
When a young man has determined to lead 
a political life, his first desire is, to be elec- 
ted to the State Legislature, then to become 
Governor of the State, and from that posi- 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 35 

tion he thinks himself entitled to go into 
the United States Senate, but there is no 
uniformity in these promotions. Generally 
speaking, the career of public men in this 
country, is measured more by their cunning 
or success in managing the people who have 
votes, rather than by their abilities. Nor 
does their political success depend upon 
their antecedents — upon wealth or family 
position. Ten years before he became 
President, Ulysses S. Grant was a leather 
merchant ; it was the boast of Andrew 
Johnson, the late President, that he had 
been bred a tailor ; and of Abraham Lin- 
coln, that he had earned his living in early 
life as a common chopper of wood, or rail- 
splitter. The present Minister to England 
was once a tutor in. an academy ; and the 
Ministers to France and Spain were both 
printers ; but at the same time it does occa- 
sionally happen in these latter days, as it fre- 
quently did in fortner times, that the diplo- 
matic representatives abroad have attained 
high positions notwithstanding the fact that 



36 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

they have been men of culture and quiet 
scholarship, as in the case of Motley and 
Bancroft the historians, and Marsh the dis- 
tinguished scholar and author. The pres- 
ent Secretary of the Treasury, was, for 
many years, a merchant's clerk ; and among 
the Senators and Representatives, are men 
who once sold dry goods for a living, or 
were engaged in various mechanical employ- 
ments, but who are not on those accounts, 
less esteemed than they would otherwise 
have been. But when a notorious gambler 
or profligate is elected to Congress, as has 
sometimes been the case, it must not be 
supposed that the American people are in- 
dilTerent to his antecedents. The most 
striking fact, perhaps, which can be men- 
tioned by way of illustrating the wonderful 
elasticity of the American Government is 
this, that among the Representatives now 
sitting in Congress and engaged in mould- 
ing the laws, are several persons, members 
of the Negro race, who were once slaves, 
employed upon plantations, both of which 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 37 

could alike, at one time, have been sold for 
a specific sum of money. Although there 
are many instances among the State Gov- 
ernors, where men have risen to eminence 
from obscurity, the people have generally 
been more careful in selecting their State 
executives, than in selecting their Congress- 
men ; and what we have said in regard to 
the changes effected by politics in the case 
of prominent officials, is equally true, in a 
less degree, of all the subordinate office- 
holders. And now the question arises, how 
about the servants of the public after they 
have been superseded in their official posi- 
tion ? It cannot be said that any of the 
Presidents have ever gone into any unbe- 
coming employment after leaving the Exec- 
utive Chair; but it is not uncommon for 
Ex-Congressmen and other ex-officials of 
the so-called higher grades, to go into all 
sorts of inappropriate employments, from a 
Government Clerkship to a Claim agency. 
The only one of the Presidents who con- 
sented to enter Congress after leaving the 



38 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

Executive Chair was John Qiiincy Adams, 
but his character stood so high as a man and 
a statesman, he could afford to do as he 
pleased, and to die, as he did, in the har- 
ness of public life. As before stated, the 
total number of men, who have served the 
country as law-makers, is about five thou- 
sand ; of these, the legal profession has 
sent the largest proportion ; the men of let- 
ters have numbered only one in every fifty : 
the eloquent speakers or orators of special 
note, have not been more than two hundred ; 
less than one-half graduated at learned in- 
stitutions: while the balance have been 
farmers and planters, merchants, and mem- 
bers of various professions. The total num- 
ber of men who have held Cabinet appoint- 
ments is one hundred and eighty-two, of 
whom one hundred and thirty-three have 
been Congressmen : of the forty-four Su- 
preme Court Judges, one half of them served 
in the Senate or House of Representatives : 
out of five hundred and twenty-seven for- 
eign Ministers, one hundred and seventy 



- OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 39 

were members of Congress ; and of the 
seven hundred and sixty-eight State and 
Territorial Governors, three hundred and 
forty-nine were Congressmen. The Treaty 
which has recently been made between the 
American and English Governments, con- 
summates a long-wished for condition of 
affairs, viz : a cordial good-will with all the 
great Powers of Europe — Great Britain, 
France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain. 
It is claimed, indeed, by the best thinkers, 
that the American Government was never 
more powerful and influential for good than 
it is at the present time. Intercourse and 
trade between the two continents, over 
the Pacific Ocean, are growing rapidly. 
The friendship of Japan for the United 
States, and its thorough reciprocation on 
their part, are universally acknowledged. 
The latter seem to watch attentively the 
movements of England and other European 
Powers in the far East. And while the 
British Government may deem it wise to 
use force in its dealings with the Eastern 



40 OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 

nations, the American policy appears to 
adhere resolutely to the principles of peace, 
justice, and equal rights to all, notwith- 
standing the late unwarrantable operations 
of the American Navy on the coast of Corea. 
The changes for good that have taken place 
in Japan during the last few years, are a 
matter of wonder and satisfaction to the 
whole civilized w^orld. The American peo- 
ple have been, since the memorable visit 
of Commodore Perry, taking great and spe- 
cial interest in the affairs of Japan. The 
President of the United States has justly 
echoed the prevailing sentiment among the 
Americans, when he said to the Prince 
Fushimi, member of one of the Imperial 
families of the Micado, that he had seen 
with pride, the young men of Japan com- 
ing over to receive their education, and 
that he would take the greatest pleasure in 
contriving to make their residence in this 
country, both agreeable and useful to them. 
There rests upon Japan a great hope, as 
well as high responsibility, for the success 



OFFICIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE. 41 

of bringing about a healthy and exemplary 
civilization, which must take the lead among 
all the Asiatic nations. 

P. S., In view of the changes which are 
constantly taking place among the officials 
of the American Government, to which al- 
lusion has been made in the foregoing pages, 
the writer must express an opinion. They 
are, beyond 9II question, a great disadvan- 
tage to the Republic. They naturally in- 
terfere with the proper and regular working 
of the machinery of the Government, and 
are the primary cause of the bitter political 
dissensions, which have long prevailed, and 
continue to prevail, among the American 
people. And what is more, they lead to all 
kinds of corruption ; and at the very time 
of our writing these lines, the people of 
New York are greatly convulsed over the 
discovery that the Treasury of the City and 
State has been robbed to the extent of 
many millions of dollars, growing directly 
out of the evils of office seeking, and rota- 



42 OFFICIAL AND rOLITICAL LIFE. 

tion in office from party considerations. 
On the other hand, it must be confessed 
that where the people have it in their power, 
as in America, to regulate the conduct of 
the men they elect to office, so long as they 
are truly honest, they can always prevent 
a long continuance of the evils brought 
upon them by unscrupulous demagogues. 
Hence the great importance of their being 
both virtuous and truly patriotic. 



PART SECOND 



LIFE AMONG THE FARMERS AND 
PLANTERS. 



In the present paper, we propose to give 
ii comprehensive account of the Agricultural 
population of the United States, and shall 
speak of Farm Life in New England, (the 
Eastern,) the Middle, and Western States ; 
and of Plantation Life in the Southern 
States. It is now generally acknowledged 
that the prosperity of America depends 
chiefly upon its Agriculture, and that it has 
come to be considered the granary of Eu- 
rope. The area of land susceptible of cul- 
tivation has been estimated to be about 
two thousand, two hundred and fifty mil- 
lions (2,250,000,000) of acres, more than 
half of which is owned by the Government, 



46 LIFE AMOXG FARMERS AND PLANTEP^. 

fire hundred millions (500.000.000) having 
been surveyed and is now ready for occu- 
pation ; while the lands under cultivation 
amount to more than two "hundred millions 
(200,000,000) of acres. It has also been 
estimated that seven-eighths of the entire 
population of the country are engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, or in the various pro- 
fessions and trades naturally dependent 
thereupon. The largest wheat crop ever 
produced in the States, was in 1S69 when 
the ^-ield amounted to two hundred and 
sixty-four millions (264,000,000) of bush- 
els, and a^ the average price was one dollar 
and forty cents (i^l.iO) the total cash value 
was not less than §369.600,000. The 
quantity of corn was 1,100,000,000 bush- 
els; Rye 22,000.000 ; Birley 28.000,000 ; 
Buckwheat 17,000.000 ; Oats 275.000,000, 
and Potatoes 111,000,00 J: Hay 22,000,- 
000 ton? ; Tobacco 310,000,000 pounds ; 
Cane Sugar 120,000,000 pounds and Cot- 
ton 1,767,000,000 pounds, valued at $147,- 
380,000. And as to domestic animals, io- 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 47 

eluding youn^ cattle, horses, sheep and 
swine, their value was $978,872,785. 

With these few leading facts before him, 
the reader may obtain an approximate idea 
of the agricultural wealth of the country : 
and he must remember, that the very 
numerous unmentioned articles would swell 
the agricultural supplies to the extent of 
many additional millions. It is claimed 
by English farmers, that in some particu- 
lars, their method of farming is superior to 
that practised in this country, and that is 
undoubtedly true, but on the other hand it 
has been demonstrated, that the leading 
grains can be produced at a much lower cost 
in the United States than in England. As 
this is pre-eminently an agricultural coun- 
try, it follows that here the most numerous 
attempts to produce labor-saving implements 
have been directed to facilitate the labors 
of the farm. The extent to which new 
agricultural inventions have been patented, 
is so great, that in 1869, they reached the 
number of nineteen hundred (1900) and all 



48 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

of them for saving mnscular power on tlie 
farm, and in the househohl. A particular 
account of them is as follows : Churns and 
churning, 130 ; Corn-shellers and huskers, 
40; Cultivators, 150 ; Diggers and spaders, 
30 ; Fertilizers, 6 ; Forks (hay, manure, 
&c.,) 100 ; Harrows, drays and pulverizers, 
80; Harvesters and attachments, 195; 
Hay-spreaders, 25; Hoes, 25; Mowing 
and reaping machines, 30; Planters, 150; 
Plows and attachments, 255 ; Pruning, 15 ; 
Rakes, 90; Seeding and sowing, 80 ; Sep- 
arators and smut-machines, 50 ; Straw, hay 
and fodder-cutters, 30; Threshing-machines, 
35; and Yokes, 15. In the more settled parts 
of the country, the old-fashioned varieties 
of the hoe, the sj^ade, and even the plough- 
share, are now looked upon as barbarous 
contrivances, and in their place the farmers 
use what are called Steam ploughs, the 
Rotary Spade, the Sulky plough, Horse 
Cultivators, Shovel-ploughs, as well as 
Reaping, Mowing and Threshing machines 
of many varieties. The improvements that 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 49 

have been made in such tools as the shovel, 
spade, hoe and forks, are so great that they 
may almost be considered entirely new in- 
ventions. With regard to these and many 
other implements of husbandry in America, 
lightness, simplicity and comparative cheap- 
ness are absolutely essential to their per- 
fection. One of the effects, if not the most 
important, of these labor-saving machines 
has been, that, while one man has been 
kept in the field, three have been sent to 
the great towns to prosecute other enter- 
prises of profit, or have entered upon the 
cultivation of other farms. The organiza- 
tion of Agricultural Societies, which have 
done much to perfect the science of tilling 
the soil, was commenced shortly after the 
establishment of the Government in 1775, 
and their influence, in connection with an- 
nual fairs, has been wide-spread, and of the 
greatest advantage. There is not a State 
in the Union, which does not boast of one 
of them, organized for the benefit of all the 
inhabitants at large. Nor ought the fact 



50 LIFE AMOXG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

to be forgotten, that there arc already many 
Agricultural Colleges in the country, and 
that they are annually increasing in num- 
bers and influence. And then again, the 
agricultural periodicals are numerous and 
of high repute. 

But notwithstanding all these facts, ex- 
perienced men have expressed the opinion, 
that the condition of Agriculture in this 
country is not what might be desired. The 
great trouble is, the want of proper method. 
The art is as yet imperfectly known and 
practised, and the American system is full 
of deficiencies. The domain of the United 
States, embraces soil capable of yielding 
the richest and most varied productions, in 
the greatest abundance ; and it is a pecu- 
liar feature of the country, that all the lands 
■which have been sold by the Government, 
or are still owned by the same, are surveyed 
upon a system of squares and divided into 
townships of six miles square, sub-divided 
into sections and quarter sections, whereby 
the farms are generally regular in shape. 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 51 

and disputes are avoided in regard to boun- 
dar}^ lines. The lands belonging to the 
Government are sold at the uniform price 
of one dollar and a quarter ($1.25) per acre, 
so that for one hundred dollars, a new set- 
ler can receive a farm of eighty acres; but 
under existing laws, a foreigner, if of age, 
and intending to become a citizen, obtains 
a homestead substantially as a free gift. 
The total quantity of land owned by the 
Government was 1,834,968,400 acres ; of 
which 447,266,190 acres have been sold ; 
and the amount now for sale is 1,387,732,- 
209 acres. That the National Government 
takes a deep interest in the welfare of the 
Agricultural population is proven by the 
fact, that a Department of Agriculture exists 
in Washington, which annually publishes a 
very valuable volume of miscellaneous in- 
formation, and supplies seeds and cuttings 
for all who may apply for them, while the 
Postal laws of the country allow their trans- 
portation through the mails free of expense ; 
the same laws making ordy a small charge 



r)2 LIFE AMOT^Cr FARMERS AXD FLANTEKS. 

for the cxcliaiig-e of seeds, cuttings and 
plants between private })arties ; but more 
than all that, the National Government has 
recently made a grant of seven millions 
(7,000,000) of acres of land for the benefit 
of Agricultural Colleges, and propositions 
are now pending for giving away nearly 
twenty million (20,000,000) acres of bind 
for objects directly or indirectly connected 
Avith the farming population of the Eepub- 
lic. The total number of farms in the Uni- 
ted States is about three millions, Avhich 
gives a tarm for every thirteen of the en- 
tire population ; and the largest proportion 
of these farms range from twenty to one 
hundred acres. 

And now we propose to give a descrip- 
tion in general terms of Farm Life in the 
New England States, (the six Eastern 
States.) viz : Maine, Massachusetts, New^ 
Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and 
Rhode Island. In this region the farms 
are almost universally small, ranging from 
ten to one hundred acres, and stone fences 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 53 

predominate above all other kinds. The 
Agricultural season is short, winter lasting 
through half the year. No verdure but 
that of evergreens resists the annual cold, 
and an 'unnielted mass of snow covers the 
ground for months. The soils, excepting 
in the more extensive valleys are poor and 
rocky, and aside from those farms which 
are given up chiefly to the grazing of cattle 
or the production of hay, the products of 
the earth are only obtained by the severest 
kind of labor. Along the sea shore, kelp 
and fish are popular manures, but in the in- 
terior, guano, calcareous manures, and the 
yield of the barn yards are employed. The 
owner is, himself, the foremost workman, 
and his sons, his principal assistants : and 
all household matters are performed by the 
females of the family. The farmers live in. 
comfortable frame houses, very frequently 
surrounded with flowers, use both coal and 
wood for fuel, and are noted for their fru- 
gality and neatness. Their barns are spa- 
cious and substantial. They produce noth- 



54 LIFE AMONG FARMEES AND PLANTEES. 

ing for exportation, but a greater variety 
of crops than the more extensive farmers, 
and are quite content if they can obtain a 
plain, comfortable support. In Vermont, 
the raising of superior breeds of horses has 
been a specialty, but for farm work, oxen 
are more popular than horses. If the far- 
mers happen to have a small surplus of any 
commodity, they dispose of it in a neigh- 
boring town 'y and thus provide themselves 
with luxuries, or put aside a little money 
for a rainy day. In some localities Agri- 
culture is often joined to other employments 
such as fishing and shoemaking. The far- 
mers in New England, as well as through- 
out the country, are generally a reading 
people, and profit somewhat by the published 
theories on the science of Agriculture. 
Their children have access to the country 
schools, but the sons are often obliged to 
help their parents in the field during the 
vernal months, so that their principal time 
for study is in the winter. They are a 
church-going people, and to the extent of 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 55 

their means, liberal in furthering the cause 
to which the J may be attached. They take 
an interest in. politics, and are decided in 
their opinions. . They are social in their 
dispositions, fond of visiting their friends, 
and on Avinter evenings, have what they call 
apple-paring, and bed-quilting frolics, when 
their homes are cheered by such refresh- 
ments as mince and pumpkin pies, as well 
as cider, walnuts and apples. Their amuse- 
ments are as various as their tastes, but the 
perpetual struggle with mother earth, for 
the means of living, makes them careful of 
their time, and is apt to induce and keep 
alive the most serious views of life. On 
farms lying in the vicinity of villages, it is 
often the case, that certain members of the 
family obtain positions in the fictories or 
other manufacturing establishments, where- 
by they are enabled to increase their means 
of support. As soon as the boys attain the 
age of manhood, they find their fields of 
operation circumscribed, and leaving the 
paternal roof, wander forth into the world 



50 LIFE AMOXG FARMERS A^D PLANTERS. 

to make their own fortunes : — some of them 
to the turmoil and strife of the large cities, 
and others to the more inviting regions of 
the great, and not yet fully developed West. 
In New England, farm life is to-day, very 
much what it was a generation ago ; and 
from the ver}' nature of the cold and bar- 
ren soil, will so continue without any marked 
progress. The farmers have done their 
best, in fact all that could be done ; every- 
thing is finished and they are contented. 
It is not that the spirit of competition has 
died out there. That the Agricultural in- 
terests of New England have reached and 
passed the period of culmination is undoubt- 
edly true. The fi^rmers of this region are 
more truly the yeomanry of the land, than 
any other class, and a large proportion of 
them are natives of the soil they now culti- 
vate, and like the venerable oaks and elms, 
which adorn many of their farms, they are 
content to live in the present as in the past, 
hoping that any f;\mily olfshoots that may 
have been planted in more congenial and 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 57 

productive soils will be, as they have been 
in unnumbered instances, a blessinii; to 
their descendents. 

We now pass over into what are called 
the foui' Middle States of the Union, viz : 
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 
Delaware, where we shall find a somewhat 
different condition of affairs, but with the 
stamp of New England manners and cus- 
toms everywhere visible. There the aver- 
age size of farms is between one hundred 
and one hundred and fifty acres, and gener- 
ally speaking, the soil is productive. The 
fences are usually made of rails, and every 
variety of manure is employed. If not rich, 
the farmers are in easy circumstances, and 
count upon annually lajnng up something- 
handsome in the way of profits. Though 
well posted in their business, by years of 
practical experience, they employ a needed 
supply of hands, who do most of the hard 
work, while their own time is occupied 
with the lighter duties of the farm and a 
general supervision of affairs. Their houses 



58 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

.'iro comfortable and often elegant, and alTord 
ample accommodation for the proprietor, his 
family and his assistants. While those of 
New York, where the native American ele- 
ment prevails, fare sumptuously on the food 
of their own raising, and have become cele- 
brated for their superior butter and cheese, 
the farmers of Dutch descent, located in 
Pennsylvania are charged with never eat- 
ing what might be readily sold ;it the near- 
est market. It is to the credit of these 
farmers, that their barns are unequalled in 
this country, oftentimes better than the 
houses they live in, and that with them, 
the profits of their style of farming are 
always satisfactory. With regard to the 
cheese business, it has come to be so ex- 
tensive, that we may allude to it more par- 
ticularly. The entire produce of last year 
was about one hundred millions of pounds, 
three-fourtlis of which was made in the 
Middle States, but the largest amount in 
New York. 

From time immemorial the Dutch have 



LIFE AMOKG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 59 

had control of this business, but the exports 
from this country are now about double of 
the exports from Holland. Formerly it was 
the custom of the farmers to make cheese 
upon th'eir respective Airms, but it is now 
made in regularly established factories, 
which are supported by the farmers located 
in their vicinity. The total number of these 
factories now flourishing in this country is 
thirteen hundred, and they are supplied 
with milk from not less than three hundred 
thousand cows. In New Jersey and Dela- 
w^are and on Long Island, where the chief 
attention is devoted to fruits and vegetables 
and where are to be found the most beau- 
tiful gardens in the country, the hired hands 
are more numerous than elsewhere, in pro- 
portion to the size of the f^irms or gardens, 
but their positions are not so permanent. 
Various kinds of berries are here raised in 
the greatest abundance, and the surplus 
hands left unemployed after the annual 
gatherings have to seek other employment. 
In the great majority of cases, the pro- 



60 LIFE AMOX(} FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

prietor joins his hired men in the work to 
be done, ^vhether in casting the seed, driv- 
ing the machinery employed, or gathering 
in the harvests ; they all occupy the same 
platform as citizens, whether naturalized, or 
natives of the country ; free access to schools 
and churches is enjoyed by all without re- 
gard to family or fortune ; and the man who 
is working to-day as a hired hand, knows 
full well, that if he continues to be true to 
himself and his opportunities, he will yet be 
respected as a proprietor. By means of 
newspapers and books, they keep up with 
the spirit of the ago ; and, though generally 
disinclined to participate in the partizan 
squabbles of the day, they are by no means 
indifferent to the welfare of the country, 
and are frequently called upon to fill offices 
of trust and honor. They rise early, eat 
a frugal meal at noon, and retire at the 
coming on of darkness, excepting in the 
winter, which is their time for visitinii- and 
home enjoyments, and this is true of the 
farming classes generally throughout the 



LIFE AMONa FARMEKS AND TLANTEES. (31 

country. What are called fancy-farmers 
are probabl}^ more numerous in the JMiddle 
States than in any other region, but these 
men are apt to spend more money than they 
make ;' and an idea of the wealth which 
some of them attain, may be gathered from 
the fact that there is one family in the val- 
ley of the Genessee in New York, who own 
not less than thirty thousand acres of land, 
and all of it in the highest state of cultiva- 
tion. It is this class of the more wealthy 
farmers residing in all the States, who great- 
ly benefit the country by introducing the 
best kinds of stock from foreign countries, 
who have been known to pay twenty thou- 
sand dollars for a single stallion (horse.) 
two or three thousand for a heifer, a ram, 
or a bull, or one hundred dollars for a tiio 
of fowls, consisting of one male and two fe- 
males. It was one of these extensive far- 
mers who inaugurated the plan of issuing 
printed cards with the following regulations 
for the guidance of his men. " Regularity 
in hours. — Punctuality in cleaning and put- 



62 LIFE AMONG FAEMERS AND PLANTERS. 

ting away implements. — Humanit}^ to all 
the animals. — Neatness and cleanliness in 
personal appearance. — Decency in deport- 
ment and conversation. — Obedience to the 
proprietor, and ambition to excel in farm- 
ing." Extensive and various as are the 
farming interests of the Middle States, and 
so great are the temptations to go farther 
west, the demand for farm hands and female 
servants is always equfil to the suppl}^, and 
while the men receive from fifteen to thirty 
dollars per month with board, the women 
receive from eight to fifteen dollars per 
month for home work, and of these, by far 
the largest proportion are from England, 
Ireland and Germany. The secret of the 
unparalleled growth, and the daily increas- 
ing power of the United States, is, that the 
Government in its practical working, is con- 
fined to the narrowest limits, that it is the 
Agent, not the Master of the people, and 
that the latter initiate all changes in its 
political and social life. It is therefore the 
condition of the success of a settlement that 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. G3 

the immigrant relies on his own strength, 
acts on his 3wn responsibility, and seeks 
by his own efforts the prosperity which he 
is sure to find if undisturbed. In spite of 
obstaclt3S and disappointments, he will make 
his way and ultimately attain his objects. 
In the States now under consideration, as 
well as in all the States of the Union, ex- 
cepting New York and a few others, a mar- 
ried woman may not convey her separate 
real estate, except in a joint deed with her 
husband, and yet in most of the States, the 
separate property of the wife is recognized. 
There is no imprisonment for debt in any 
part of the Republic; and, when a farmer 
has become involved, (in more than half 
the States,) his homestead is exempt from 
execution ; and in all of them household 
furniture to the extent of five hundred dol- 
lars, "wearing apparel, tools and books neces- 
sary to carry on business, one to five cows, 
one yoke of oxen, ten sheep, carts and farm- 
ing implements ; and the uniform and arms 
of any man who is or has been in the pub- 



64 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

]ic service, are also exempt from the grasp 
of the creditor. When the head of a family 
dies, without making a will, his property is 
equally divided among his children or their 
offspring, and when there are no lineal de- 
scendants, the estate goes to the next of 
kin. 

The next division of farm life we have 
to consider, is that of the Western States. 
Of these there are sixteen in all, thirteen 
in the valley of the Mississippi river, and 
three on the Pacific Ocean. Their extent 
is so immense, and their products so numer- 
ous, that it is difficult for the mind to com- 
prehend their importance and influence. 
Four of them were, until recently, classed 
among the Slave States, and because the 
S3^stem of slave labor therein has become 
greatly modified by free labor, they can 
hardly be, with propriety, embraced in our 
present review. x\s a wheat-producing re- 
gion, the Western States have progressed 
in a manner perfectly amazing, until they 
now stand unsurpassed by any other region 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 65 

of like extent in the world. Although the 
population has increased about fifty per 
cent, in the last twenty years, the increase 
of produce has greatly exceeded that of 
population. But the relative value of all 
the other cereals, and other farm produc- 
tions in these States is quite as extensive 
and remarkable as that of wheat. That 
the people who are annually bringing out 
of the soil such immense wealth, are wide- 
awake and industrious is self-evident. Gen- 
erally speaking the farms are much larger 
than those in the Middle States, and the 
farm hands very much more numerous. 
Very many of the farmers with whom we 
come in contact, seem to have settled in the 
country with limited means. Some bought 
land, with no more money than would pay 
the first instalment on it, and had to work 
for others to make mone}'^ to pay the other 
instalments as they came due. They are 
able, in this way, in a few years to settle 
down and cultivate their own soil : and this 
method of operating is in progress to-day. 



66 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AXD PLAXTERS. 

When farms are rented, which is often done, 
the system adopted is ns follows. If the 
tenant is not able to provide stock, imple- 
ments and seed, the proprietor supplies him 
with all these and then allows him one-third 
of the grain crops. In this way many a 
man works himself into a farm of his own. 
The ordinary rate of interest on borrowed 
money is ten per cent., but even at this 
high rate it usually pays a farmer well, and 
there is every facility given to respectable 
and industrious men. There are often cul- 
tivated farms in the market for sale, but 
persons desiring to purchase cannot always 
be present; and in buying second hand 
farms, it is well to be certain, that it has 
not been previously morts;a<iTd. As is the 
case in all other branches of business, the 
man who has the best capacity is likely to 
be the most successful, and the operations 
of some of the more famous farmers in the 
West sound more like romance than reality. 
For example, there was lately one farm in 
Illinois which contained about forty thou- 



*. 



07 

sand acres, with one pasture field of eight 
thousand acres : its chief production was 
corn, all of which was consumed upon the 
farm itself; but in one year the proprietor 
sent to New York City, cattle enough to bring 
seventy thousand dollars, while his home 
stock was valued at one million of dollars ; 
and yet the man lived in a small house, in 
the most simple and unpretending style, 
and habitually sat down at the same table 
with his hired men. But the farming ex- 
ploits of this man, were eclipsed subse- 
quently, by those of another who is now 
carrying on a farm of fifty thousand acres. 
With regard to another of the model farms 
of Illinois, w^e may state, that it contains 
thirty-six thousand acres, and last year 
had one corn field of five thousand five 
hundred acres yielding two hundred and 
twenty thousand bushels, three thousand 
tons of hay, four thousand head of cattle, 
and gave employment to eighty-five plow's, 
fifteen planting machines and fifteen mow- 
ing machines. The he I^e fencing on this 



68 LIFE AMONG FARMEKS AND PLANTERS. 

farm measures about one hundred and thirty 
miles, and contains also about eighty miles 
of board fencing. There is however still 
another farm, located in Illinois, which 
ought to be mentioned in this place, as it is 
reputed to be one of the most extensive 
and successful in the world. It is called 
the Burr Oak Farm and is owned by a man 
named Sullivant. It embraces sixty-five 
square miles ; and although the owner com- 
menced work upon it only four years ago, 
he has at the present time, growing upon it 
not less than eleven thousand acres of corn, 
and five thousand acres besides, planted in 
miscellaneous crops. The hedges which 
cross, re-cross and surround the farm, meas- 
ure three hundred miles, the board fences 
six miles and the ditches one hundred and 
fifty miles. The working men employed 
on this farm are mostly Swedes and Ger- 
mans, number two hundred and fifty, and 
are constantly employed from the first of 
April to the first of January. They work 
ten hours per day, report to the proprietor 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 69 

every evening, and are not allowed the use 
of any intoxicating drinks. The working 
animals of the farm consist of three hundred 
and fifty mules,. fifty horses and fifty yoke of 
oxen, and it is amply supplied with the ordi- 
nary stock of an extensive farm ; and the 
leading machinery employed consists of one 
hundred and fifty steel plows, seventy-five 
breaking plows ; one hundred and forty-two 
cultivators ; forty-five corn planters, and 
twenty-five harrows ; and it has one ditch- 
ing plow which is drawn by sixty-eight oxen 
and managed by eight men. The house in 
which the proprietor resides is a common 
wooden structure, comfortable, but without 
the least pretention. It will be understood 
of course, that farms of this extent are not 
found in every county or State ; but they 
give us an idea of the spirit that animates the 
farming fraternity generally. Let us now on 
the other hand, look at the operations of 
one or two small farmers in Illinois. One 
man, for example purchased eighty acres 
of prau'ie land for $360. Spent $500 on 



70 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND TLANTERS. 

improvements, his crops for the first year 
brought him over $1,500, and at the close 
of the third year, his fiirm was sold for 
$2,000. Another man v^ith a capital of 
only $700, bought one hundred and sixty 
acres : his annual produce for six years 
was $2,000, at the end of which time he was 
worth about ten thousand dollars. And 
such instances as the above have occurred 
by the thousand in the great West. As 
we glance over the immense number of 
farmers who are toiling throughout the 
Western States, it is quite impossible to 
tlepict their manners and customs with any- 
thing like accuracy. So many are the nat- 
ionalities which compose the great mass of 
inhabitants, the mere mention of these is 
indeed a kind of description. In Illinois 
and Ohio, the Germans, Irish and English 
are about equally divided ; in Wisconsin 
the English and Germans predominate ; and 
ISJissonri is most extensively settled by the 
Germans. In the States bordering on the 
Great Lakes and the Upper Mississippi 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 71 

several Scnndinavian colonies have been 
established ; and there has been a consider- 
able immigration of Chinese into California, 
but this latter class has not manifested any 
strong predisposition for Agricultural pur- 
suits. The great variety of nationalities 
which sometimes congregate in one region 
was strickingly exemplified a few years ago 
when the State of Wisconsin was obliged 
to publish its Governor's message in not 
less than eight languages. The amount of 
money sent across the ocean by immigrants, 
to friends left behind, principally to pay 
their passage to America, is surprising. 
From the official returns of Emigration Com- 
missioners of England, it appears that in 
1870 there were sent from this country to 
Ireland, principally, $3,630,040 in gold, of 
which $1,663,190, was for pre-paid passage. 
In the twenty-three years from 1848 to 1870 
the amount of money sent was $81,670,000 
in gold, being an average of about $3,889,- 
047 yearly. But this amount is probably 
somewhat below the actual amount, as 



I 2 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND FLAXTERS. 

it only inihules what has been sent through 
banks and commercial houses. And these 
sums, Lirge as they are. are made ii[) by 
careful savinus from the waires of servant 
girls and farm laborers. In California, 
Missouri and Ohio, the grape has been so 
extensively cultivated as to give them the 
reputation of being the Wine producing 
regions of the United States ; and among 
their vineyards ^Ye find many of the habits 
f)revailing which are common to the wine 
districts of Europe. In California a farm 
is called a Ranch, and one of the most noted 
ones in that State may be described as fol- 
lows. It contains eighteen thousand (IS,- 
000) acres ; and last year sixteen hun- 
dred (1600) acres were devoted to wheat, 
eight hundred (800) to barley, two hundred 
(200) to oats, two hundred (200) to meadow, 
and about fifteen thousand (15.000) acres 
to orchards, vineyards and pasturage. The 
fruit trees number eight thousand (8000,) 
the grape-vines fifty thousand (50,000) ; 
and the live stock consists of two hundred 



\ 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 73 

(2i30) horses, one thousand (1000) head of 
cattle, three thousand (3000) sheep and two 
thousand (2000) swhio; and the entire 
domain is surrounded with good fences. 
From the above and other facts nh'eady 
narrated, it will be seen that the United 
States are supplied wdth all kinds of farm- 
ers ; some cultivating their thousands of 
acres, and others their half dozen ; and yet 
they all seem to live comfortably, and the 
great mnjorit}^ are independent. And there 
are numerous instances of xVmerican women 
who have been, and are to-day, quite suc- 
cessful in the management of farms ; and 
what will be the result of the extensive 
emigration from China to this country now 
going on, is a problem, which can only be 
settled by the future. 

Our next subject for consideration is the 
Plantation Life of the Southern States. 
Only about sixX years have now passed away, 
since the close of the civil war, which re- 
sulted in the emancipation of more than 
four millions of slaves, and a glance at the 



74 LIFE AMONG FAKMERS AXD PLANTERS. 

conditioa of the South, before that great 
event, would seem to be necessarv. In 
1S60 there were lifreen State? in which 
Slavery existed, and all of them, excepting 
five, made war upon the General Govera- 
ment — four of them having already been 
mentioned, as among the Western States. 
They contained a population of 4.334.250, 
of whom only 383.637 were Slave owners. 
The number of Plantations under cultiva- 
tion was estimated at seven hundred and 
sixt^'-five thousand, comprehending about 
seventy-five millions of acres : and as to the 
cotton and sugar, rice, wheat, corn, and 
live-stock, which were jjroduced upon them, 
they can only be appreciated by consulting 
the publications of the Census Office. The 
planter was the owner, not only of broad 
acreS; almost without number, but also of, 
from ten to one thousand menials or slaves, 
whom he fed and clothed for his own exclu- 
sive profit, and who, for the most part, did 
his bidding without a murmur or thought 
beyond the passing hour. He livetl at his 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 75 

ease among books anrl in the dispensation 
of a liberal hospitality, leaving all the labor 
on his plantation to the direction of an over- 
seer, who spent most of his time on horse- 
back, issuing orders to the working men 
and Avomen, and watching the regular pro- 
gress of affairs. According to his wealth, 
the planter lived in a house, or an elegant 
mansion, while his slaves were domiciled 
in rude but comfortable cabins. They re- 
ceived a supply of provisions, but no com- 
pensation in money ; although it was cus- 
tomary to allow them the use of a patch of 
ground for their own benefit, and a fragment 
of time out of each da}^ or week to cultivate 
it. But all this is now changed : Slave 
labor has no existence on the soil of the 
United States : and the opinion is universal 
that the suppression of slave labor will ulti- 
mately add greatly to the national advance- 
ment of all the States in which it formerly 
existed. Among the results follow^ing the 
late rebellion, was the fact, that much of 
the property in the Southern States passed 



76 LIFE AMONG FARMERS A>7D PLANTERS. 

into new hands. Many old plantations 
were abandoned by their owners and have 
never been reclaimed, others have been con- 
fiscated, and others sold at a ruinous sacri- 
fice. Many of the soldiers, who went 
South, who had been raised among the 
rocky hills of the North, became in love 
with the rich and beautiful fields and val- 
leys of the South, and thousands resolved 
to settle in the new country. '1 hey married 
Southern women, formed new alliances and 
associations, and have opened up a new ca- 
reer for the South which is rapidly becom- 
ing more and more salutary in its influences. 
The great landed estates which have been 
cut up, may be purchased by all new com- 
ers, at a very small cost, while the black 
race to a great extent have settled upon 
small patches of land, where they can main- 
tain themselves in comfort and enjoy an in- 
dependence of thought and feeling which 
they did not know under the old order of 
things. Whole plantations have been set- 
tled by families of owners, who were form- 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 77 

erly slaves upon the snine estates. Men 
who were formerly overseers or superin- 
tendents, are themselves settling down upon 
their own newly acquired farms. Although 
attempts to obtain laborers from China and 
Sweden have been made, the principal cul- 
tivators of the Southern States are the 
Freedmen : who, indolent by nature, do as 
little work as possible, will not hire out for 
more than a single year, and one of the re- 
sults of their free<loni is, that they will not 
let their wives work as in the olden times. 
To retain their services, the planter is 
obliged to praise and humor them in many 
ways. The terms upon which the negroes 
are hired is generally to let them have one- 
half of what they produce, but when sup- 
ported by tlie planter they receive but one 
quarter of wdiat they produce. When the 
planters are attentive to their business they 
almost invariably succeed, and when un- 
successful as farmers, they are apt to help 
their pockets by keeping small country 
stores, and in all the towns are located men 



78 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

who are called warehouse-men, whose busi- 
ness is to receive, store and sell all the cot- 
ton or other produce which may be con- 
signed to their c;ire. What the people of 
the South now need is help — not lands ; 
and in many of the most fertile regions, 
evei'y inducement is thrown out to invite 
emigration from the North. But, after all, 
it is idle to suppose, that the griefs, the 
passions and animosities engendered by the 
late rebellion, will die out while the present 
generation survives. Too many brave men 
have perished, too many homes made deso- 
late, too many families broken up and re- 
duced to beggaiy, to expect anything of 
that sort. Men whom it has impoverished 
will live and die poor, remembering con- 
stantly, the cause of their poverty. Widows 
will long mourn over husbands, children 
over fathers, slain in battle. A new^ and 
happier era is in store for the rising genera- 
tion ; but its advance will be slow. The 
people of the North and of the South, it is 
fondly hoped and believed, will again be- 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 79 

come M, happy, a united, and prosperous 
people ! united in interests, in pursuits, in 
intelligence, and in patriotic devotion to 
their united country. 

Of all the products grown in the Southern 
States the most important and universal is 
Cotton, and it has been asserted that it was 
this single commodity which prevented that 
portion of the Union from relapsing into 
abject poverty. Everything was sacrificed 
to Slavery, and Slavery sacrificed every- 
thing to itself; and as there were not slaves 
enough to cultivate the soil as it needed, 
cotton raising was all that saved the coun- 
try. The principal States where cotton is 
now grown are Mississippi, Alabama, Lou- 
isiana, Georgia, Texas, and Arkansas, and 
in all of them, efforts are being made for 
- the introduction of Chinese labor. The 
cultivation of rice is limited to three States, 
South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana: 
Sugar cane and its products, — in the way 
of Sugar and Molasses, — to Louisiana : In 
Florida considerable attention is paid to the 



80 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLAXTER*. 

cultivation of oranges, lemons, and other 
tropical iruits : Wheat and tobacco have 
occupied the chief attention of farmers in 
Virginia and the neighboring States of 
Tennessee and Kentucky : North Carolina 
has acquired a reputation for its sweet po- 
tatoes and ground nuts. Indian Corn is 
an important product in all the Southern 
States : while the mountain lands, which 
in all directions are covered with grass as 
well as extensive forests, are devoted to the 
grazing of cattle in great numbers, where 
they llourish throughout the year without 
shelter or any special care. In all the 
States lying directly on the gulf of Mexico 
the climate is mild, the winters short, open, 
and delightful, and farm work can be done 
every month in the year. They begin there 
to make their gardens in December, ami 
until the following December there is a 
continuous succession of crops. The peo- 
ple live easily and produce more for the 
same amount of labor than in any of the 
Northern States. Lands are cheap and 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 81 

may often be paid for by a single crop. 
The timber is everywhere magnificent, and 
the lands are irrigated by numerous streams, 
and adapted to an unlimited variety of pro- 
ducts. 'And for the raising of cattle there 
is not a region probably, in the world, bet- 
ter suited for that purpose than the exten- 
sive State of Texas. In some localities, 
the cattle maybe counted by the thousand, 
and it is an amazing fact that droves of 
them are annually sent by the Stock-raisers 
as ffir off as California; and Texas cattle 
have even been butchered in the city of 
New York, and even cargoes of Texas beef 
have been shipped in ice to Philadelphia. 
From ten to twelve men are required for a 
herd of a thousand cattle, with two horses 
or mules to each man, for day and night 
duty, the cattle needing to be herded at 
night to prevent stampedes. For those who 
have never witnessed its operations, it is 
difficult to realize the extent of this cattle 
traffic, and it is sometimes the case that the 
whole earth seems to be covered with the 



82 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND TLANTERS. 

herds, ns f;ir as the eye can reach over the 
vast prairies. The chiss of people common- 
ly known as the ''Texas Cow-boys" are 
indeed a power in the hind, whose exploits 
and lives of adventure are more like romance 
than reality. And here, in passing, we may 
with propriety devote a paragraph to the 
various modes employed by farmers in Fenc- 
ing. Tn those regions where loose rocks are 
abundant, stone walls are almost universal: 
where both stone and wood are scarce, they 
have a fashion of planting trees and shrub- 
bery : as a matter of taste, wire fences are 
occasionall}" employed. In all localities 
where wood is abundant, they make what 
are called post and rail and worm fences. 
It is said that the fences of New York have 
cost $144,000,000, those of Pennsylvania 
$120,000,000, Ohio $115,000,000, and 
South Carolina $20,000,000, while the 
fences of the whole Union are estimated 
at $1,300,000,000. These figures are enor- 
mous, but the}^ tend to exhibit the extent 
of the farming interests of America. 



LIFE AMOXG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 83 

Having now taken a general survey of 
the Agricultural population of America, 
we shall conclude what we have to say, 
with a few remarks on their manners and 
customs, as exemplified by certain amuse- 
ments, which are for the most, peculiar 
to this country. And first, as to the 
Sugar-Making Frolics. In various parts of 
the Union, large quantities of sugar are an- 
nually made from the sap of the Maple tree. 
The moment winter breaks, and the sap 
begins to ascend in the spring, the trees are 
tapped, and the liquid thus obtained is boiled 
down until it becomes a rich syrup or gran- 
ulated sugar. All this takes place in the 
dense woods, and most of the work is per- 
formed at night. At the close of the sea- 
son the farmers invite their friends and 
neighbors to a kind of jubilee which is held 
in the sugar camps, and where, with sump- 
tuous fare, followed by music and dancing, 
the entire night is given to enjoyment ; and 
when the last cauldron of sugar has been 
made, and daylight has appeared, the com- 



84 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

pany is dispersed, and the sugar utensils 
are packed away until the coming of another 
season. Corresponding to the above, in 
most of the corn-growing regions they have 
what are called " Corn HusJiingsr This 
entertainment occurs when a farmer is anx- 
ious to prepare for market an unusual quan- 
tity of the yellow maize ; and in the North 
or West, when the young men and country 
lasses have met, they are piloted to the 
spacious and sweet-smelling barn, and for 
a stated time all work without ceasing, un- 
til the allotted task is performed ; an ad- 
journment then takes place to the farm 
house, where feasting and dancing continue 
all the night long. When this frolic occurs 
in the South, the colored people there do 
the work, and enjoy themselves in their 
own rude, but amusing ways, while the 
white people for whom they may happen 
to be working, act as the hosts, content to 
enjoy the laughable scenes brought to view. 
In the New England States, especially those 
regions bordering on the Sea, they have 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 85 

what are called " Clam Bakes." These are 
usually attended by men only, who con- 
gregate from various quarters ; for the pur- 
pose of exchanging political opinions, and 
having a systematic good time, when 
speeches are delivered, and large quantities 
of cheering beverages are imbibed, as well 
as Clams eaten, after a primitive fashion. 
The shell fish are roasted in an open field 
and duly prepared with the desired condi- 
ments. These affairs take place in the sum- 
mer after the leading harvests have been 
gathered in. In the Southern States, cer- 
tain festivals are common, but more so be- 
fore the late war than now, which are 
known as " BarbecuesT They are political, 
and sometimes bring together very large 
numbers of the planters and their families, 
and the time is generally devoted to speech- 
making, happily varied by eating and drink- 
ing the good things of the land. The prin- 
cipal food on these occasions, consists of 
beef or mutton, and the oxen or sheep are 
roasted entire, over a pit duly prepared and 



86 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

filled with burning coals. The cooks and 
caterers are generally negro men and wo- 
men, and as they have the privilege of in- 
viting their own friends, the groves where 
they assemble present a varied and fantastic 
scene. The young people have it all their 
own way. and there is no end to the variety 
of their amusements. Another rural cus- 
tom is known as a " Hoiise-Raismgr This 
occurs after some farmer has prepared his 
timber for a new house or barn, when he 
invites his friends and neighbors to come 
and help him to lift the timbers and cross 
pieces into their proper places. This invi- 
tation is always cheerfully accepted, and 
most of the time is devoted to downright 
hard work. But after the task has been 
accomplished the men have a substantial 
feast and a good long talk about their farms, 
their crops and cattle, and commonly sepa- 
rate with a warm brotherly feeling for each 
other and for their fellow-men everywhere. 
In some of the fruit-groAving regions, large 
quantities of apples are stripped of their 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 87 

skins, cut into quarter pieces, and hung up 
to dry for winter use, and in that condition 
become a source of revenue. Out of this 
variety of business has grown an Autum- 
nal festival called an '^'- Apple-Paring T This 
takes place in the evening, the guests are 
invited as to an ordinary party, and after 
a few hours attention to business, the night 
is given up to feasting and dancing, or the 
playing of innocent games b}^ the young 
people who compose the majority. Ball- 
playing and Sleigh-riding, are two other pas- 
times in which the Americans indulge with 
rare gusto. By the rural population Satur- 
day afternoon is usually assigned to the 
former, on which occasions the young men 
are as active and expert in throwing and 
catching, or striking the ball, as if they 
had been idle all the previous week instead 
of having had to work in the fields with the 
utmost energy. Sleigh-riding of course 
takes place in the winter only, when the 
ground is covered with snow, and then it is 
that the young farmers bring out their best 



88 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

horses, fill their Sleighs with laily friends, 
enveloped in gaily trimmed furs, and to the 
exhilirating music of the bells, start off on 
all sorts of expeditions over the neighbor- 
ing country. From time immemorial it has 
been the custom among the negroes of the 
South to devote the last ^yeek of the year 
commonly called Christmas IloUdai/s to 
every variety of amusement. When slav- 
ery existed, those prolonged festivities 
were freely accorded to the slaves, and were 
full of romantic interest ; but now that they 
are free, the colored people claim their old 
privilege as a right, but do not find the 
same unalloyed enjoyment as of old in their 
annual frolic. They have not as yet ar- 
rived at that stage, when they can enjoy 
the blessing of supporting themselves. 
About the close of the year they have in 
various parts of the country what they call 
^'^ Shooiing MatcJiesT These are of two 
kinds, one where turkeys and other birds 
are tied to a stake, and made a target for 
men who like to shoot the rifle, and exper- 



LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 89 

ienced shots sometimes win a sufficient 
quantity of large poultry to supply all their 
fi'iends. Another kind of match is, when 
two parties pit themselves against each 
other, and go upon a hunt for a day or a 
week, for squirrels or birds of game, when 
the victors are rewarded with a prize of 
some kind, paid for by the losing party. 
And then they have throughout the country 
such rural jollifications as Sheep-Sheaying, 
Ploughinc/ Matches, and, to the discredit 
of the participants, Cock-Fightings, which 
need not be described. But of all rural 
assemblages none are so generally popular as 
Country Fairs. They occur in the Autumn 
in numerous localities, and bring together 
thousands of the Agricultural population. 
The first Agricultural fair ever organized 
in this country by any of the colored popu- 
lation, Avas recently carried through with 
success in the State of Kentucky. Farm 
products, animals and country fabrics are 
exhibited to a marvellous extent, in many 
of these fairs. All sorts of friendly compe- 



90 LIFE AMONG FARMERS AND PLANTERS. 

titions are entered into, and Ilorse-racing, 
has become an important adjunct to all these 
Fairs, whether patronized by the State at 
large, or confined to the counties where they 
are held. But the crowning custom, and 
the one most universally recognized by the 
American people, is, the celebration of what 
is known as ThanJcsgiving Day. It is an 
annual festival honored by proclamations 
from the President, and the local Governors, 
who specify the particular day ; and of all 
places to enjoy it, none can be compared to 
the house of a successful farmer. The prim- 
ary object of this festival is to recognize the 
goodness of the Almighty in crowning the 
labors of the field with prosperity, and the 
occasion is made especially joyous by the 
gathering together, under one roof, all the 
scattered members of the fiimily in the old 
home. There are some other rural customs, 
which might be mentioned in this place, but 
as they are of a religious character we shall 
defer them for a subsequent chapter of this 
volume. 



PART THIRD. 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVEL- 
OPMENTS. 



The inland and coast line navisration of 
the United States, is not surpassed, in ex- 
tent and character, by any country on the 
globe ; and the industry and enterprise of 
the Americans in developing their commer- 
cial and shipping interests, has been, until 
within the last few years, equal to their 
superior advantages. Passing by all statis- 
tics in regard to the tonnage of the country, 
let us take a brief survey of the vessels 
and navigators which have given the coun- 
try its reputation. By far the largest pro- 
portion of American vessels are run upon 
inland waters, and are called small craft, 
but the sea-going vessels, if less numerous, 
are generally as large as those of any 



94 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

other nation, and have been constructed 
on unsurpassed models. The ships called 
" Liners," which, a few years ago, ran be- 
tween New York and Liverpool acquired 
wide celebrity, and have never been sur- 
passed for beauty and speed. But they 
have been superceded by steamers, and 
ships of that class now transact the same 
business. The burthen of those sailins;- 
vessels was about two thousand tons ; they 
were splendidly equipped, swift, were com- 
manded and manned by the best metal, and 
did an immense business in brino-ino; mer- 



'& 



chandize and immigrants to America. But 
with the calamities that have befallen the 
mercantile marine of this country, they have 
nearly all passed away. During the fiscal 
year of 1870, there were less than one hun- 
dred thousand tons of sea-going vessels 
built in the United States, and less than 
three hundred thousand tons of all descrip- 
tions of vessels, which amount. was about 
equalled by the vessels built on the Clyde 
alone, while the tonnage of steam vessels 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 95 

built all in England, was sixty times greater 
than that of America. One result of this 
falling off in American ship-building has 
been that large numbers of men, who were 
brought up on the ocean, are seen turning 
their attention to a variety of pursuits con- 
nected wholly with the land. The inland 
waters of the country are most abundantly 
supplied with steamboats, and all the varie- 
ties of the smaller sailing vessels ; the coast- 
ing trade, and fishing interests, are quite as 
important and extensive as heretofore, but 
new vessels are by no means now turned 
out with the rapidity that they were a few 
years ago. It was the late war, also, which 
helped to put back the carrying trade of 
America, but with the return of peace and 
the final restoration of the Union, the old 
order of things began to be restored. When 
the Great Rebellion, or rather the British 
cruisers, sailing under its flag, drove Ameri- 
can shipping from the seas, and thus trans- 
ferred the carrying trade to foreign bottoms, 
the commerce of Philadelphia suffered in 



9G COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

common with that of other cities. The 
substitution of iron for wood, at about the 
same time, as the material for first-class 
steamships, left the country not only with- 
out ships, but behind other nations in facili- 
ties for making them. Boston, New York 
and Baltimore soon recovered in good part 
their former commerce through the help of 
foreign subsidized steamship lines. But 
Philadelphia, more thoroughly imbued with 
American ideas, made little effort to secure 
such foreign lines, but waited to build a 
line of her own, which will soon be estab- 
lished between that city and Liverpool. 
In 1860 the tonnage of the United States 
amounted to 5,353,808 tons, and in 1870, 
to 4,246,507 tons. Notwithstanding the 
above facts, however, the commerce of the 
country is very large and flourishing, since 
it appears that the American imports for 
1870, amounted to about six hundred mil- 
lions of dollars and the exports about four 
hundred millions. The great variety of na- 
tive productions exported from America 



COMMERCIAL, LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 97 

gives assurance of the impossibility of fail- 
ure in the resources of the nation. For ex- 
ample, from the Sea, they have such pro- 
ducts as oil, whalebone, spermiciti, and 
many kinds, in great abundance, of fish ; 
from the Forest, timber, shingles, staves, 
lumber, naval stores and furs ; from Agri- 
culture, every description of corn and vege- 
table food, and the products of animals, in 
the way of beef, pork, tallow, hides, bacon, 
cheese, butter, w^ool, lard and hams, with 
horned cattle, horses, and other animals. 
From the Southern States they have cot- 
ton, tobacco, rice, and sugar; from the fac- 
tories, every variety of useful goods ; w^hile 
their exports of specie and bullion, have 
never been exceeded by any other nation. 
And as to their imports, they are simply 
enormous — silks and furniture being the 
most important, and for which there has 
always been a demand. But the crowning 
element of American Commerce is its inter- 
nal trade ; and in this connection, we can- 
not, perhaps, mention a more remarkable 



98 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

fact than this, that the production of spirit- 
uous liqitors in 1870 amounted to $600,- 
000,000, — the persons engaged in selling it 
by retail, numbering not less than one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand ; while the impor- 
tation of opium from China amounted to 
nearly $2,000,000. The distances in Amer- 
ica are so great that the internal trade and 
traffic of the country has been, and must 
always be, a business of vast importance. 
And the extent of territory implies great 
diversity of productions. The growths of 
tropical regions are exchanged for the field 
crops and forest produce of cooler latitudes; 
and in another direction, the products of 
the coast and of extensive interior districts 
are exchanged. The tide of emigration sets 
from east to west, while the tide of com- 
merce flows from west to east; and we can 
only obtain an adequate idea of the inland 
commerce by considering the enormous ex- 
tent of the inland shipping and. the railway 
facilities of the country. 

But it is with the social aspect of Amer- 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 99 

icaii Commerce that we have to do at the 
present time. The grand business centre 
of the nation is New York City. Having 
direct and constant intercourse with ail 
parts of the world, the nationality of its 
merchants is as varied, as the countries 
which they represent. Of the native-born 
merchants the most numerous and success- 
ful originated in the New England States, 
and are distinguished for their intelligence, 
ability and elevated personal characteristics. 
They live in elegant houses, and while sur- 
rounded by all the appliances of prosperity 
and wealth, are not prone to making a great- 
er display than their less fortunate neigh- 
bors ; they are plain in their manners, and 
hospitable ; and if many of them happen to 
indulge in keeping up fancy residences in the 
country, the largest proportion are quite 
content to spend their summer vacations, 
by the sea-side, or among the green hills of 
their native States. They devote them- 
selves to business with ceaseless activity, 
and are the men who generally take pleas- 



100 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

ure in expending their surplus capital upon 
all sorts of benevolent, religious and educa- 
tional institutions. A type of merchants, 
allied to these, is also found in all the other 
cities of the country. Next to them come 
the English, French and German merchants, 
who generally deal in the kind of merchan- 
dize sent out from their several countries. 
In their modes of transacting business, and 
of living, they adhere as closely as possible 
to the customs of their native lands, but 
with many modifications. The particular 
men who laid the commercial foundation of 
New York, were from Holland, but their 
characteristics have been amalgamated, with 
those of the various nationalities which 
have, latterly, made that city the most cos- 
mopolitan in the country. While a very 
large trade is carried on between New York 
and the Oriental nations, the merchants of 
Boston have long considered themselves the 
special patrons and friends of the far East, 
and that city has always been a noted mart 
for the commodities of India, China, and 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 101 

Japan, in which particular it is now finding 
a rival in San Francisco. Its coasting trade 
is also very extensive, and it is the port 
whence various manufactures are shipped 
in immense quantities. The whaling busi- 
ness, which was formerly divided between 
several cities, is now almost entirely con- 
fined to New Bedford ; the merchants of 
which city, like those of Boston, are proud 
of their descent from what is called the Puri- 
tan stock. In Philadelphia, where the coast- 
ing trade is almost unparalleled, they have, 
what is called a Quaker element of popula- 
tion, which has always been noted for its 
integrity in matters of business — but this 
city is now vieing with New York in the 
cosmopolitan character of its merchants, — 
and in the person of Stephen Girard pro- 
duced one of the wealthiest and most emi- 
nent merchants in America. With regard 
to Baltimore and Charleston, Mobile, and 
New Orleans, — all these places are the 
natural outlets of the entire Southern half 
of the United States, and in all of them 



102 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

may be found an abundant supply of mer- 
chants from the four quarters of the globe. 
And corresponding with the cities just 
named, there are throughout the interior of 
the country, very many cities which have 
grown into centres of trade and commerce, 
with marvellous rapidity ; among them may 
be mentioned Chicago, (whose merchants, 
are now building up a large tea trade with 
China, by way of San Francisco,) Detroit, 
Cleveland, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, Louis- 
ville, Buffalo and Pittsburg, in all of which 
may be found the principal nationalities of 
the globe. Looking at the commercial 
classes, in the aggregate, it is quite impos- 
sible to give prominence to any nationality ; 
and it would seem as if, after a brief resi- 
dence in America, the whole mercantile 
population, with one exception, becomes 
permeated with the characteristics of the 
native-born inhabitants. The exception al- 
luded to is the Jewish race. They are 
found in every city, and almost in every 
hamlet, — always engaged in bartering and 



I 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 103 

selling, and never in producing, and they 
are pre-eminently a wandering people. With 
them, the one great end of life, would seem 
to be, to make money, but where they set- 
tle down to enjoy it has always been a 
mystery. 

In America as elsewhere, permanent suc- 
cess in business is chiefly dependent upon 
character; honest and upright men are sure 
to command the respect of their neighbors, 
and when unfortunate, always find their 
fellow merchants ready to assist them ; and 
when men of bad repute happen to make 
fortunes, they generally find it convenient 
to settle down among strangers, to enjoy 
their ill-gotten gains. One of the efi'ects of 
the late war in this country, was to enrich 
a large number of adventurers and unscru- 
pulous men who made money by imposing 
upon the General Government, through po- 
litical intrigues, and it was because of their 
foolishness in spending their money and 
putting on airs, to which they were not ac- 
customed, that they came to be known by 



104 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMEKTS. 

the opprobrious title of shoddi/, in remem- 
brance of a spurious cloth which some of 
them palmed off for the use of the army. 
But the average American merchant of to- 
day is a man who deserves and receives uni- 
versal respect. He is intelligent, but not 
addicted to the profits and pleasures of lit- 
erature. Engaged all day in the excite- 
ment of commercial speculation, he has but 
little time to devote to reading, and improv- 
ing his mind. He works so hard and so 
constantly, that work becomes a second na- 
ture to him, prostrating his energies and 
making him indifferent to proper recrea- 
tions ; he considers his word as good as his 
bond, and, to protect his credit, will make 
the greatest sacrifice of property; he is 
liberal in his feelings and gives freely to all 
objects which have the sanction of his good 
opinion ; he is hospitable, but would prefer 
to have his wife and daughters, attend to 
the honors of his house and table ; and when 
overcome by reverses, he takes a new start, 
changes the character of his business, per- 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 105 

haps, and will not acknowledge himself as 
overwhelmed, and proves his metal by at- 
taining final success. Perhaps there is no 
feature in the character of the Americans 
which is so remarkable as their spirit of 
enterprise. It is indeed wonderful and is 
the cause of their success. But it does not 
follow that this enterprise is all native born ; 
a portion of it is undoubtedly brought into 
the country by intelligent men from the 
leading countries of Europe. 

But let us now take a glance at some of 
the phases of their commercial life, or rather 
at the classes of men who transact the mer- 
cantile business of the country, and first as 
to the shipping merchants. To carry on 
their business a large capital is required, 
and as individuals or organized companies, 
they are generally the leading patrons of 
the great ship yards. They have vessels 
built to order, and also buy them in open 
market ; they establish lines of communi- 
cation between home ports, by way of lakes 
and rivers, and between the United States 



106 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOrMENTS. 

and foreign countries ; and they are the 
men who so frequently obtain valuable con- 
tracts from the Government for carrying 
the mails, as in the case of the Pacific 
Steamship Company, which receives not 
less than five hundred thousand dollars for 
conveying a semi-monthl}^ mail from San 
Francisco to China and Japan. One of the 
most famous of these men is named Corne- 
lius Vanderbilt. Another class of shipping 
merchants are those who simply direct or 
superintend the business for other parties. 
They are indeed what might be called, more 
properly, Brokers. The wealthiest man 
who ever lived in the country, John Jacob 
Astor, and who left about $25,000,000, was 
at one time engaged in the shipping busi- 
ness, and made a great deal of money by 
sending his ships to China, but he was pre- 
eminently a trader in furs. Ihen come the 
Importing Merchants. They have their 
agents located in foreign countries, purchase 
and sell their merchandize only in the bulk, 
and are the men who give the greatest im- 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 107 

petiis to the home trade. Some merchants 
of this class, engaged in trade with the Ori- 
ental nations, have followed the same busi- 
ness for nearly a century ; many of them 
located in New York and Boston, have ac- 
quired immense fortunes, and it was the 
son of one of these, James Lenox, who lately 
made a donation of a million of dollars for 
the establishment of a Library and Gallery 
of Art in New York. With some few of 
these imjDorters the custom prevails of sel- 
ling their goods by auction, soon after their 
arrival, and in this manner whole cargoes 
of tea from China or sugar from the West 
Indies were sold within the space of half 
an hour. But this business has well nigh 
been absorbed by the class known as Bro- 
kers. Another important class of merchants 
are the wholesale dealers or Jobbers. They 
receive their goods in the bulk from the 
importers and sell them by the piece or in 
broken packages. They sell on credit and 
usually confine themselves to a particular 
class, or a few classes of goods. One house, 



108 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

for example, will sell only silk goods, 
another, all sorts of cotton fabrics, another 
the several varieties of woolen goods, 
another hardware, and others wooden or 
fancy goods and groceries of every descrip- 
tion. And then there are what are called 
the Retail merchants. They constitute the 
most numerous class, and are to be found 
in every city and village of the land. In 
the larger towns there is no mingling of 
dry goods and groceries, but in the hamlets, 
the merchants find it necessary and to their 
advantage, to keep for sale everything that 
the people can possibly require— from a 
yard of callico or a piece of ribbon, a paper 
of buttons or needles, to a pound of tea or 
coffee or sugar or shot, or a cake of soap. 
It is sometimes the case, however, that the 
importing, jobbing and retail trades are 
carried on by the same firm, and there is 
one man located in New York City, Alex- 
ander T. Stewart, who is reputed to be the 
wealthiest and most influential merchant of 
this sort, in the world. His establishments 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 109 

are on the most stupendous scale ; he era- 
ploys agents and clerks by the hundred ; 
and his passion for business is so strong 
that he is among the first, as well as the 
last, in his daily attendance at his enor- 
mous warehouses. This man began his 
career a poor and friendless boy, and besides 
building a palace for himself, giving away 
millions (or the comfort of the poor, he is 
now engaged, at an immense outlay, in 
founding a model town in the vicinity of 
New York. The Commission Merchants 
form another very extensive class of the 
business men. To carry on their business, 
less capital is required than for those already 
named, but it is important that their credit 
should be unimpeachable. They receive 
goods or produce, from the manufacturers 
or farmers, and sell them to the best ad- 
vantage, receiving for themselves merely a 
certain per cent, on the amount of sales, in 
the way of commission, for trouble and ex- 
penses. With regard to the subordinates, 
who are employed by the more important 



110 COMMERCEAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

merchants, they consist of Drumniers, who 
devote their time to hunting up customers ; 
of Clerks who sell goods and keep the books ; 
of Porters, who pack the goods and do the 
manual labor ; and of Draymen, who carry 
the merchandize to the vessels, of every 
description, and to the railway stations. 
But there are certain other classes of busi- 
ness men in all the commercial marts, whose 
duties are important and whose influence is 
extensive. First among these are the auc- 
tioneers, who sell to the highest bidders, 
real estate, furniture, books, works of art, 
and everything in fact, which the owners 
desire to turn rapidly into money ; then 
come the Brokers, who usually devote them- 
selves to one commodity, such as cotton or 
money, tea and coffee, sugar or grain, wdio 
have come to be a numerous and useful 
class, and who sell only by samples, receiv- 
ing their pay like the commission merchants. 
They transact the business which was for- 
merly performed by one class of auctioneers. 
The class of men known as Bankers are 



COMMEPX'IAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. Ill 

those who conduct the moneyed institutions 
of the country, albeit large numbers fol- 
low the business on private account, man}^ 
of whom, in all the leading cities, have ac- 
quired immense fortunes. Of these, per- 
haps the most successful and celebrated is 
now a retired citizen of Washington, and 
who, within the last few years has given 
away, for purposes of charity and culture 
many millions of dollars. And still another 
class of the business men who are very nu- 
merous and constantly increasing, are known 
as Insurance men. They are the managers 
of extensive corporations, who insure in 
stated sums of money, all kinds of property 
from fire and marine disasters, as well as the 
lives of men, who desire to secure a compe- 
tence for their families in the event of death. 
From the foregoing statements it will be seen 
that the machinery of commerce in this 
country is fully organized and very complete. 
But, fully to comprehend the extent and 
range of the commercial interests, we must 
now turn our attention to the System of 



112 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

Railways as it exists in the United States. 
This is a subject which increases in inter- 
est and importance every year. In 1860 
this system had already reached a develop- 
ment which was justly regarded as amazing. 
It was the product of but a short time ; 
every mile of road had been built within 
the recollection of men who had not yet 
passed middle life, and three-fourths of it 
all within ten years. Yet there were in 
operation more than thirty-one thousand 
miles of road, wdiich, with their equipment, 
had absorbed of the capital of the country 
not less than twelve hundred and fifty mil- 
lions of dollars, or ten per cent, of the en- 
tire assessed value of property in the United 
States. There were men, however, who 
protested that this interest had outgrown 
the needs of the country, and was the result 
of speculative and artificial influences ; that 
it diverted capital from more useful em- 
ployments and tended to retard the pros- 
perity of the country. Nor have these men 
changed their opinion. But what a change 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 113 

has taken place in this business? From 
the official reports we learn that at the 
commencement of the present year there 
were railroad lines in operation to the ex- 
tent of i,iiore than fifty-three thousand miles 
which, with their equipment, cost nearly 
twenty-seven hundred millions of dollars, or 
twenty-two per cent, of the entire assessed 
value of property in the country. Of these 
more than eleven thousand miles have been 
built within two years, and at an expendi- 
ture of four hundred millions of dollars. In 
other words, the people of America have 
contributed during the last ten years more 
than half as much to build railroads as they 
have paid in taxes for the support of the Gov- 
ernment, including the conduct of the war, 
and are now contributing yearly for the same 
purpose two-thirds as much as the whole 
revenue of the national treasury. The to- 
tal earnings of these railroads in 1870 were 
four hundred and fifty millions of dollars ; 
and the gross tonnage transported equalled 
one hundred and twenty-five millions oi' 



114 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOrMENTS. 

tons, having a value of more than ten thou- 
sand millions of dollars. 

Prior to the late war, the American rail- 
roads were regarded almost exclusively in 
their relations to trade, and the comprehen- 
sive study of them was the concern only of 
the economist. But they have now become 
the centres of many forms of power in the 
hands of corporations whose management is 
concentrated, secret, and largely irresponsi- 
ble ; they hold vast accumulations of wealth ; 
employ a large proportion of the scientific 
and practical ability of the nation ; they 
exert an immense influence on all the mar- 
kets, and on the social and material w^elfare 
of the whole people. They are also the 
favorite instruments of speculation, and 
sources of sudden profit; they wield politi- 
cal agencies and parties, in many places, 
and even dictate to the State Legislatures. 
They thus connect themselves with society, 
in so many relations, that their growth and 
influence are becoming an anxious study, 
not only for the economist and the trader, but 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 115 

for the politician, the statesman, and the 
moralist. Hitherto, a large part of the 
capital thus consumed has been borrowed 
from foreign nations, and the want is not 
felt in the United States. But it makes 
part of the debt on which the productive 
industry of the country must pay the inter- 
est. The subject, as it has been well said, 
thus presents important and difficult ques- 
tions for discussion. But all men must ac- 
knowledge that the rapid progress of this 
enormous interest is as wonderful as its 
present magnitude ; and it is plain that the 
ultimate extent to which the construction 
of railroads in America will be carried, no 
estimate can be formed. 

Before leaving this subject we must sub- 
mit a few additional particulars. The av- 
erage rate of speed, with the passenger trains 
in America, is thirty miles per hour, and 
the number of cars in each train, varies 
from five to fifteen ; while the freight trains, 
frequently number not less than one hun- 
dred cars. The locomotives are far more 



116 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

powerful, and much larger than those on 
English roads, and wood is the common fuel. 
In front of the engine is generally placed a 
massive iron grating called a " cow catcher" 
intended to throw off any animal that may 
be upon the track ; and in winter they are 
supplied with immense plows for the pur- 
pose of cutting through the banks of snow. 
They are supplied with bells as well as 
steam whistles, to be sounded when start- 
ing, or used to give note of coming danger. 
They are generally managed by three men, 
one engineer and his assistant, and one fire- 
man. The passenger cars are large and 
have from eight to sixteen wheels ; — some 
of them plain and open to all, and others 
called Palace Cars, are very elegantly fitted 
up, and occupied only by those persons who 
are willing to pay an extra fare. On all the 
trains, are also to be found such conveniences 
as " Sleeping" and " Smoking Cars." The 
men who manage the trains while running, 
are the " Conductors," who collect the tick- 
ets ; at the end of each car is stationed a 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 117 

brakeman, who helps to regulate the speed ; 
there are also baggage men ; while boys 
with books or papers or fruit are permitted 
to pass through the trains; and upon those 
which carry the United States mail, there is 
always an officer of the General Post Office 
Department. Tickets are purchased before 
entering the cars, and for every piece of 
baggage a metal check is given, so that a 
man may travel a thousand miles or more 
without casting a thought upon his baggage. 
The rails are made of iron and steel and 
single or double tracks are in vogue accord- 
ing to the necessities of the route ; and the 
longest continuous line of railway in Amer- 
ica, running from New York City to San 
Francisco, is three thousand and two hun- 
dred miles. 

As the primary object of commerce is to 
accumulate money, it is proper that we 
should conclude this paper with a general 
Survey of the Finances of the United States, 
and of the people to whom their management 
is intrusted. At the close of the last fiscal 



118 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

year the debt of the United States amounted 
to $2,480,672,427 ; the reduction, since 
1866, when it reached the highest amount, 
having been $292,563,746. The total Re- 
ceipts of the Government were $566,935,- 
818, while the expenditures amounted to 
$417,433,346, leaving a balance in the 
Treasury of $149,502,471. The money 
spent for the civil service was $19,031,283 ; 
Foreign Intercourse, $1,490,776 ; Military 
Establishment, $57,655,675; Naval Estab- 
lishment, $21,780,229; collecting Customs 
Revenue, $6,237,137 ; assessing and col- 
lecting Internal Revenue, $7,234,531 ; 
Light House Establishment, $2,588,300; 
Mint Estabhshment, $1,067,097; Indians, 
$3,407,938; and Pensions, $28,340,202; 
while the balance was devoted to miscella- 
neous expenditures. Turning from the 
operations of the National Treasury to the 
Banking Institutions, we find the following 
information : The National Batiks, which 
are conducted by private enterprise but 
made perfectly secure by the General Gov- 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 119 

ernment, number 1627, and have a capital 
of $436,478,311; the Chartered Banks, 
which are disconnected from the Govern- 
ment, number 18^2, and have a capital of 
1503,578,000 ; the Private Bankers repre- 
sent about $400,000,000 of capital; and 
the Savings Banks are estimated to hold 
about $195,000,000. The system upon 
which all these institutions is managed, is 
quite uniform — each one having a President 
and Cashier, a Board of Directors, and as 
many Clerks as may be required. Taken 
in the aggregate, the bankers of America 
are as upright and intelligent as any in ex- 
istence, but no class, from Presidents down 
to common Clerks, are so liable to go astray, 
and therefore it is that the papers have oc- 
casionally to chronicle acts of dishonesty 
among banking men. On the score of suc- 
cess, it is also worth mentioning that the 
Private Bankers have at all times led the 
way in the more important financial nego- 
tiations between the United States and 
foreign countries ; and the late Rebellion, 



120 COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 

as well as the preceding War with Mexico 
were both greatly indebted to the skill of 
two men, whose names as bankers hnA^e 
passed into history, viz : William W. Cor- 
coran and Jay Cooke. Of the various 
financial institutions, perhaps the most use- 
ful and truly American in its character is 
that known as the Savings Bank, the pri- 
mary object of which is to keep in safety 
the savings of the poorer classes, for the 
use of which the bank pays a regular inter- 
est. Other banks make it their business 
to lend money for commercial purposes, but 
not so with the Savings Banks, which have 
more to do with real estate in making use 
of their funds. With regard to the circu- 
lating medium of the United States, we 
may remark that it is divided into paper 
money and specie. The former, which is 
also called currency is all issued directly 
from the National Treasury, in denomina- 
tions ranging from ten cents to one thou- 
sand dollars, and is a legal tender through- 
out the length and breadth of the land ; 



COMMERCIAL LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTS. 121 

while all the issues under one dollar are 
called fractional currency. The specie of 
the country is coined at a national mint, 
located in Philadelphia, and of course under 
the direction of the Treasury, and is com- 
posed of copper, silver and gold ; the copper, 
forming one and two cent pieces ; the sil- 
ver, five, ten, twenty-five and fifty cent 
pieces ; and the gold, one, three, five, ten, 
twenty, and fifty dollar pieces ; to all of 
which may be added, what is called gold 
and silver bullion. While it is true that in 
all parts of the world money is considered 
a great power, there is probably no country 
where the people are so universally imbued 
with the love of gain, or place so high an 
estimate on the possession of wealth, as is 
the case in the United States of America. 



LIFE AND RESOURCES 



IN 



AMERICA. 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION 



(jtA^<rt: ARINORl) MORI. 



For circulation in Japan. 



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1871. 



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